so did senators joe biden and hillary clinton. but now, president obama's man at the fcc -- they were friends in law school -- apparently wants to do what the republicans couldn't do under president bush, and to do it behind the scenes, out of sight, with no public hearings. several public interest groups, civil rights organizations and labor unions opposed the move, and last week, senator bernie sanders and several of his colleagues called on chairman genachowski to hold off. bernie sanders is an outspoken opponent of media consolidation. he sees it as a threat to democracy. once the mayor of burlington, vermont, he served 16 years in the house of representatives and was recently re-elected to his second term in the senate. he's the longest serving independent in the history of congress. he was in new york earlier this week and we met for this interview. welcome. good to see you again. >> good to be with you, bill. >> this is a strong letter, inspired one of your colleagues in the senate says, by you. what's the beef? >> what the